Dive Brief:
- Alabama-based carrier R.E. Garrison Trucking acquired Georgia-based Boaty’s Transport Monday, according to a company announcement. A purchase price wasn’t shared.
- Boaty’s had over 50 tractors and 80 refrigerated trailers, and the move will keep the two brands running separately and help the Boatwright family transition. Michael Boatwright founded Boaty’s in 1991.
- “Within the upcoming months, Michael Boatwright will retire while his son, Shaun, will lead Boaty’s daily business from its headquarters in Jackson, Georgia,” the announcement said.
Dive Insight:
The acquisition was a right fit for the 1,000-plus employee-owned company, whose board of directors noticed the longstanding position of Boaty’s in the produce industry, according to Wyles Griffith, president and co-owner of R.E. Garrison Trucking.
Over 800 of the R.E. Garrison Trucking’s workers are drivers, and the addition complements its offices in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Oklahoma and Tennessee. It also has a brokerage division, Garrison Logistics, across three states.
Werner Enterprises made a similar move last year, acquiring Baylor Trucking and maintaining Cari Baylor and the brand with the transition. “Baylor met all our strategic touch points. Great service, outstanding drivers and associates, similar company cultures and an experienced leadership team that we wanted to retain,” Werner CEO Derek Leathers said on a November earnings call.
Meanwhile M&A has continued in 2023 elsewhere, with Massachusetts-headquartered RoadOne IntermodaLogistics acquiring The Transporter, a regional intermodal service provider based in Texas.
The move also came with Russ Cook’s retirement, who founded The Transporter in 1988, but yet another family transition.
His two sons, Jeff Ebel, vice president of operations, and Greg Cook, vice president of sales, will remain to run the day-to-day operations of Transporter IntermodaLogistics and as shareholders in RoadOne, an announcement on the deal said.
